Afterglow
by Melcangel
Summary: Set after Twilight. Susannah gets a visit from a ghost who's secrets could put her in serious danger. Will this be one ghost too many for Suze and Jesse?
1. Sunday night dinner

A/N: Hey guys,

This is my first Fan Fic. I've been reading heaps for a while but I've now decided it was time to write my own. I'm thinking that this will be part of a series of stories set after each other. I know there's been heaps done about Jesse and Suze's wedding/ proposal (not that that is going to be in this story) but I so want to do one later on.

Well… Here goes…

Chapter 1:

I really thought my mum wanted to kill me. I know it's scientifically proven that it's impossible to die from embarrassment but I'm deadly serious (pun intended) that I did. Die from embarrassment, I mean.

Andy had upheld his offer of that Sunday dinner. That following Sunday, Jesse arrived about an hour before dinner (something I have to say pleased my parents- wait, parent and step-parent- thoroughly). Little did I know that in little less then 2 hours I would be running from embarrassment at the hands at my loving mother into my room that, much to my jargon, was not as empty as when I left it.

Mum and Andy had become accustomed to Jesse's appearance at the house ever since I brought him back. Jesse's job had been going well. He seemed to have a knack for getting through to people, and I guess his _cough_ first hand experience _cough_ might have had something to do with it. While he technically wasn't enrolled as a student at the mission, Father Dom had thought it that it would be beneficial to Jesse if he studied "in an environment that could provide him with all known resources at his disposal." Whatever that's suppose to mean..

I can't believe my Mum didn't see the need to rush me to the ER right then and there when I first noticed Jesse. I'm serious, as soon as I walked down stairs, my heart literally stopped and I swear I could hear my heart beating about a hundred times a minute. I just stood there for what seemed like 5 minutes, regaining control of my body, something that I seemed to be doing more and more ever since I brought Jesse's body back. It still renders me breathless every time I see him. This time was no exception.

"…And then the president gave this highly publicized speech denying how the government was never affiliated with them, saying that…" Doc was rambling about his newest conspiracy theory to Jesse, when I finally came down stairs. I know Jesse was trying his hardest to be polite and look like he was giving David his fullest attention but his eye contact was most definitely on me.

David dried up as soon as I came down and Andy yelled that dinner was served, something I was both thankful and anxious for. After all, my mum had talked to me about Jesse but I was still weary of what she would do.

Still I guess I can't blame her. I mean, she had been so prepared for a popular teen-queen daughter, one that would have a never ending supply of boyfriends. She even managed to convince herself (for my entire teenage years!) that I was a late bloomer and was merely bidding my time. She now (this making two of us) had everything she wanted.

"Hello Querida." Jesse came over to me on his way through the kitchen to the dining table and gentle put his arms around me.

I carefully leaned up, making damn sure I had as much as my body pressed against him in the process thank you very much, and kissed him softly on the lips. I was rewarded with a low moan that I'm sure no one but my self would have been able to hear but we were interrupted by a loud call from the kitchen. Seeing Jesse almost made me forget about dinner. He had a bad habit of making me forget almost anything in his presence.

We walked to the dining table together and sat down, but not before Jesse had pulled back my chair so I could sit down. I snuck a peak at the rest of my family, curious to see how they reacted to this little maneuver that I had become pleasantly accustomed to.

A look of complete admiration was pasted on my mother's face. I could almost hear her thinking, "Awwww, how cute…" Andy looked a little surprise but managed to cover himself fairly well. Dopey just looked absolutely disgusted and snorted into his roast. Sleepy, in his true fashion, didn't seem to notice.

"So Jesse, how has the job at the local historical society been going?"

Trust mum and her news reporter instincts. But I guess that I seemed like reasonable small talk to Jesse, who seemed more then happy to answer any of her questions.

"It's going extremely well thank you Mrs. Ackerman." Jesse replied. He's always so polite.

The conversation pretty much went along those lines for the rest of the meal. (Beef Fajitas, One of Andy's best) My mother continued asking the question with Jesse politely answering. I was starting to relax. I mean everything was going pretty much to plan. That is, until mum dropped the bombshell…

"Now, Jesse. I trust that the age difference between you and my daughter won't be an issue. We have discussed this with Susannah and we believe you are good for her…"

I couldn't believe this!

"MUM! Stop. What are you doing???"

"…but we have to make sure that your intentions…"

I started to seriously blush at that. "Oh My God, mum…"

"Are, well, pure and that she…"

"All right, everyone done???" With that, I began to clear the table, even though it was Dopey's night to do so. I grabbed all I could possibly carry and made my way to the kitchen. I hoped that that would be enough to holt my mother's interrogation. I really hated leaving Jesse alone in there but I could not believe that she actually said that. I was blushing that much my face felt like it was on fire.

I placed both my hands on the sink, resting my head on my chest. _In…out…in…out. Breathe._ My therapist once told me that this was a good exercise to do when ever I felt overly angry or upset. I'm not sure she meant when I was suffering from extreme embarrassment, but hey, whatever works right! I continued this way for a couple of seconds and I really was starting to calm down.

That was, until I heard a slight shimmer behind me. I inwardly groaned…

Not again….

A/N: Well, that's the first chapter. I hope to have the next chapter up within one or two days… write soon!

Love Mel


	2. Criptic Messages

**A/N: Well, here's chapter two. **

**I'm sorry this took so long, I almost broke my computer trying to get fan fiction to let me load the new chapter. I'm now back at my mums place so it is loading now…**

**I actually forgot the disclaimer on the first chapter…. Opps… Please review guys…**

**Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Meg Cabot, one of the best authors EVER! I own nothing, except maybe the storyline… and the new ghost… but apart from that, I own nothing.**

_Chapter 2:_

You really think I'd be use to it by now, wouldn't you. Ghosts materializing out of no where, I mean. But no, it still scares the crap out of me.

"Are…are you the mediator?"

I turned around to face my newest charge. The girl looked to be about 19, however, she had that look, you know the one in some people's eyes that show they've seen WAY too much in their lives. Her long blonde hair sat perfectly on her shoulders, tumbling down her back into serious salon-worthy waves. She wore a pair of long black pants, the dressy kind, with a short sleeved white blouse. The clothing was not what I expected. It was almost too old for her. However, she was unmistakably beautiful. It was the look in her eyes that kept me from huffing in annoyance at her presence. They looked (excuse the pun) 'haunted'.

Perhaps that's why I didn't automatically brush her off. I mean, I really didn't need this right now. But she really looked like I was her last chance. Either way, I wasn't ready to just blow her off, at least not yet.

"Yes, I'm guessing you need some help?"

Hey, I'm still good old Suze. Small talk ain't exactly my strong point! So sue me if I didn't sound completely joyful about the situation.

"I tried to help him! I did! I always tried to help but they got to me. Even now he's still involved. I thought at least my death would convince him to get away, but he's still there…"

At this stage, she started sobbing uncontrollably while muttering incoherently to herself. And I don't mean little 'I'm-feeling-a-little-sad-right-now-and-the-fact-I'm-dead-might-have-something-to-do-with-it' sobs. I'm talking about 'I'm-crying-from-the-depths-of-my-soul' sobs that rack the body and render you feeling completely exhausted afterwards.

"Hey, come on. I can't help if you…"

However, I didn't get to finish what I was saying before Jesse entered the kitchen. He stopped short when he noticed the girl standing in front of the fridge. However, before I could assure HIM I was okay and assure HER that I could help her; she gave one last body-racking sob and de-materialized, leaving me and Jesse alone in the kitchen.

"Nombre De Dios Querida! What happened? Who was that?" Jesse not only looked shocked but also slightly worried.

"Nothing much out of the ordinary. Another visitor…Another cryptic message." Jesse's scarred eyebrow rose as he walked over to me.

"Well, do you know who she was?"

"No, and I won't until she decides to come back and tell us what's wrong without breaking down. All she said was how she tried to help him and that he should get away. I don't know what she meant though."

"We'll, how do you say, keep an eye out for her. So why did you run off, taking everyone's half eaten meals with you? I'm not sure about the 21st century but in the 19th I'm sure that…"

"Jesse, I'm so sorry my mother asked you that. I hope she didn't embarrass you any more while I was in here. I really didn't think she'd keep going once I left the room. Oh My God! She kept going didn't she! What did she say? What did you say? What…"

One thing I'll say for Jesse, he knows me inside out. I have a bad habit of rambling whenever I feel uneasy or angry. For that matter, I seem to ramble anytime I'm feeling uncomfortable. Just like I was doing now. I probably would have kept going too, if Jesse hadn't have placed one hand on my waist, the other, behind my neck, and lowered his lips onto mine.

Well… That just stopped any ideas of continuing I had. It always does, along with stopping any coherent thoughts or breathing patterns. I really struggled with the whole breathing concept every time Jesse kisses me. The thing is, I don't feel like I even need air. Corny as it sounds, it's like Jesse is really all I need to survive.

Great, will you listen to me! I can't believe I just said that, true as it is. But I guess that's what Jesse does to me.

Just like he was doing to me now. Being pressed between the sink and Jesse's abs wasn't as uncomfortable as you'd think. Since becoming 'alive', for want of a better word, Jesse seemed to have less of a problem with the whole 'making-out' idea. Don't get me wrong, he still holds on to his 19th century morals, ones like 'no sex before marriage, but he no longer runs a mile when he finds himself touching me somewhere he thinks he shouldn't. For example, my waist or stomach or, God- forbid, under my bra. He still stops eventually but he's finally stopped apologizing. I somehow think that what he's doing now would qualify as out-of-bounds in his eyes. Not that he seemed to notice.

His hand that was holding my waist was moving slowly towards my stomach, his fingers tickling me as they searched for the bottom of my shirt. His other hand had tipped my head back slightly so he could get further access to my mouth, that of which he was exploring inexorably with his tongue. His fingers had just started making little circles on my bare stomach when I heard my mother in the next room mention something about coming to see if I was all right. I then remembered where we were and what we were doing. Damn, she always did have bad timing!

"We'd better leave soon Querida if we are to make it in time to see that movie." Jesse's face was inches from mine as he spoke and I could feel his breath mixing with my own.

He slowly pulled away, pulling my top back down in the process and placed his hand in mine as he led me from the Kitchen back into the dining room.

"Mum, we just realized the time. We're gonna be later for the movie if we don't leave like now."

"Okay Suzie, look, sweetie, I'm really sorry about…" I really didn't need this now.

"Look mum, I'll talk to you later, we're gonna be late. Thank for dinner Andy."

After Jesse had thanked mum and Andy for inviting him and after Andy had invited Jesse over for next Sunday's dinner (Jeez he must really like him!), we made our way out to Jesse's car. Father Dom's car wasn't, obviously, available at all times, so Father D managed to pull a few string and got Jesse a small car of his own. After we were on our way, I let out a sigh of relief,

"I'm glad that's over." Jesse looked over at me, his eyebrow raised. He seemed to be doing that a lot tonight.

"Why Susannah? I thought it actually went fairly well."

I had to stare at that one! "Jesse, she was completely embarrassing. What actually went well? Unless something happened while I was in the Kitchen…"

"Querida, I have to admit, I expected your mother to ask something along those lines. It only natural for her to be worried about her 16 year old daughter seeing a 20 year old man she had only just met. In the 19th century, it was considered normal for the parents to enquire about the man expectations."

"So what did she say?"

"She apologized for asking at dinner. She said she probably should have waited until after dinner but she was only worried about you. I informed her that my intentions were, in her words, pure and then told her any expectations I had. She calmed considerably after that."

"Whatever ARE your expectations, Mr. de Silva?" I was, flirting, sue me!

"That I want to spend the rest of my life with you, in one form or another. That's exactly what I told your mother."

I was speechless for a minute. I mean, I knew everything he'd told me but to hear it out loud in such simple terms just kinda blew me away. And he actually TOLD my mother that???

Seeing as I didn't know what to say, I simply leant over and delicately kissed him on the cheek, not wanting to be the cause of any road accidents. Before I pulled away, I felt him smile, obviously pleased by my actions.

The movie went well. Well actually, I have no idea how it went. I didn't really notice much of the movie. It's all Jesse's fault, as usual. However, I did have really great time. So it was with high spirits that I made my way up my stairs after Jesse had dropped me off, promising to call me tomorrow, and got myself ready for a good nights sleep.

And I did have one. A good night's sleep, I mean. That is until I was shaken wake 3 hours later by a slightly glowing form. 'This is new!' I thought. Usually I'm woken by a scream, or a knife to the throat. But to be woken in a half-way civil manner by a ghost (other then Jesse of course!) was a new experience.

Curiosity overrode my exhaustion as I sat up. However, it didn't last long when I saw who it was.

Well, what do you know? She was back!

**A/N: Finally all the boring intro stuff is outta the way… Yay! On to the good stuff…**


	3. Sophia's story

_**Chapter Three: Sophia's story**_

A/N 1: I didn't realise that I hadn't actually finished this chapter… sorry, it seemed my computer crashed and I posted this chapter not realizing it's half finished…

A/N 2: Sorry it took a while guys… I just started yr 11 so I've only just been able to write in the school holidays, so everything was hectic finishing off last year. I think I know where I'm going with this one, at least up until a point. If you have any suggestions, not that I'll promise I'll use them, but I'd like to take a look… alrighty-o, on with the story… By the way, this chapter is dedicated to angelalways17 for being my first reviewer.

Disclaimer: Yeah right… I wish. I own nothing to do with Mediator, that would be Meg Cabot.

_Italics_ is a flash back

Chapter 3-

I couldn't help but yawn as I crept passed the broken windows out behind the old cinema complex outta town. I didn't even know they had one. The abandoned Cinema I mean. It's not like Carmel is the place you'd find an abandoned anything. L A, probably. New York, definitely but not Carmel. The weather hardly helped the situation I was in either. It was one of those rare, once-a-year days here in good old California. It never rains here, even on days like today where every inch of the horizon is a murky grey, almost like a subtle threat that the day is not going to go well.

I didn't actually believe her when she said where I could find her brother. Sophia, I mean. Yeah, she finally told me her name. After all, she is responsible for my lack of sleep last night. And even after I left, I couldn't sleep, not after what she told me.

_"I'm sorry but you have to do something. They've made him do it again. He won't say NO either. They use him cause they know he'll do exactly as they say. Now they've got Larissa and…"_

_Jeezzz, this girl babbles worse then I do. She had woken me up, gently none the less, but either way, it's still, like, 3am!_

_"Look, my brain just doesn't function very well after 3am. If you're finally gonna talk to me, you're gonna have to slow down and start from the beginning. What's your name?" I don't think I've ever said so much to ghost when they've just woken me up, even Jesse._

_She was sitting on the edge of my bed with one hand on my shoulder. As soon as I spoke, she quickly removed her hand like my shoulder was on fire. She sounded scared._

_She took a deep breath and began her story._

_"Sophia Martello. My name is Sophia Martello. They told me you could help."_

_"Well Sophia, I'm kinda tired right now, it being…" I glanced at my alarm clock next to my bed, "3:55 and all. How bout you just tell my how you died so we can wrap this up and you can move on."_

_She looked skeptical to say the least. Nevertheless, she continued._

"_I… I was murdered…"_

_Of course, they always are…_

_"So that's what's keeping you back, you want justice or revenge for your murderer so…"_

_"**Murderers**, and no, I don't want revenge. I need to know that my brother is safe and the people who did this are behind bars. They stole EVERYTHING from me, including my life and they could very well…" She stopped and looked over at my bedroom door but before I could ask her what was wrong she turns back to me and said, "I'll come back in the morning, you have company."_

_With that, she dematerialized just before Doc entered my room._

_"Suze, are you all right, I thought I heard talking…" Crap, I didn't realize I was that loud. Gotta remember to tone it down a bit._

_"I'm fine Doc, just a bad dream. Everything's ok, just go back to sleep._

_After he'd left I went over in my mind what Sophia had told me. I have to find out who her brother was. And she said murderers, as in plural. Who would have done that? Who's Larissa? What did her murderers do to her before she died to put that look into her eyes? There was no way I was getting any more sleep tonight._

_I got up, grabbed my laptop from the desk and took it back to my bed. I needed to do some research._

_It's actually funny. Mom got me the laptop not long ago, her reason being I would need it for senior high. I spend more time looking up psychotic murderers and deceased persons then typing up essays._

_I typed in Sophia Martello into the Carmel Pinecone search engine, hoping to bring up a recent article. There were two, the first being the most recent:_

_**19 Year old, Sophia Martello, who was reported missing 3 days ago, has been found dead. Her body was discovered between the headland and Sunset point at 5am yesterday by a local who had been on his early morning run. While the official cause of death has not been released, the body had been severely mutilated, almost beyond recognition. Investigators have commented that they believe she died between 9pm and 12am Friday night. As of yet there have been no witnesses or arrests. If anyone believes they have information regarding Miss Martello, the police are urging them to come forward so the culprits may be apprehended…**_

_I skipped down to the next article, dated about a year before the first in a Los Angeles Newspaper:_

_**Giovanni Martello, notorious for his involvement with the local Italian marfia was arrested in the earlier hours of this morning on 3 accounts of breaking and entering, 6 accounts of theft, 2 accounts of man slaughter and 1 account of murder. A total of 38 charges have been laid on Mr. Martello and while not proved, it is believed that Mr. Martello was the head of his local marfia cell, something he is adamantly denying. **_

**_Martello is uncooperative regarding his fellow associates and there have been no leads regarding the rest of the group, who are yet to be apprehended…_**

_I continued reading down as well as researching other sites until I eventually put most of the pieces together. Martello was a Mafia boss who got caught; He had 3 children to his wife Isabella. Sophia was the eldest, 19. Spotless record, straight A student, not so much as a parking ticket. Larissa was the youngest, 11, pretty much the same as her sister. Leonardo was the middle child, 18. His record was not so spotless. While all charges were dropped or disproved, at the time of his father's arrest, there was an investigation into Leonardo's involvement in his father's affairs._

_This was where my story got a little fuzzy; I'd need to talk to Sophia. Sophia and the rest of her family must have moved to Carmel for a new start and for some reason, the rest of the mafia wants revenge. I've just got to figure out what for._

_By this time, I'd fallen asleep, my head resting gently on the keyboard of my laptop. When I awoke again, it was 10:30 and Sophia was occupying the seat beside my window._

_She smiled when she saw I'd awoken. "I'm sorry but I felt a little bad for waking you last night so I decided to let you sleep. I see you've been busy." She gestured to my laptop, whose batteries had died, probably from being kept on all night._

_I wasn't in a hurry to get up. I mean Jesse was working till 3, at which time he'd pick my so he could take me back to his place for dinner. It was my day off, Mom and Andy were both still working, Sleepy was surfing; Dopey was out 'hangin' with Debbie and Doc was with one of his friends, finishing a summer experiment on the effects of salt on inland buildings. (I KNOW… weird!) So as you can see, I was in no hurry._

_I spoke to Sophia about what I'd found out. She pretty much confirmed my story. It turns out that it was **her brother **who turned in Mr. Martello. Apparently their dad was abusive to their mother when she found out about Giovanni's involvement with the mafia and he warned her to keep quiet. They fled Los Angeles at the police's instruction to escape the rest of the mafia who were out for Leo's blood. He is totally against the whole lot of them and despises what they do. From what Sophia told me, he sounds like a real "do-gooder"._

_This is where the plot thickens…Toni, Giovanni's 'second', who had now taken his place, had followed the Martello's to Carmel in the hope of extracting revenge. Sophia and Leo were out one night when Toni caught up with them. They took Sophia hostage, stating that if Leo wanted her back alive, he'd have to fully co-operate. Of course, turning him in or killing him would have been too easy, so, they did something which for Leo was worse._

_They forced him to, for want of a better word, work for them. They knew Leo hated their work and it would slowly kill him to be involved. So that was the deal, he had to work for them and Sophia would be unharmed. She was held in an old abandoned cinema complex on the outskirts of Carmel, where they'd set up their 'base'. Leo was told she was unharmed… well, that was a lie. When I questioned Sophia about what they did to her, she looked away and simply said, "It no longer matters to me what they did to me, it's what they're doing to my family that kills me."_

_It was about Friday when Toni forced Leo to broker a drug deal. When he outwardly refused, Toni reminded him that Sophia was still with them. Leo didn't believe him and went to walk out. Apparently, the group jumped him and beat him till he was unconscious. They then proceeded to do the same to Sophia in retaliation. Again, she wouldn't tell me the extent of what they did, but her silence was enough to give me an idea. Needless to say, she didn't survive the night._

_Sophia saw her brother recover, but after seeing the state of Sophia's body, he broke down. If it wasn't for the leverage the group now has with Larissa…_

It's because of this that I am now crouched behind a smelly dumpster outside and old abandoned cinema complex. I was now however questioning my choice of foot wear.

Seeing as I realized that I now have to climb a little bit to enter the building, knee high boots didn't seem like the best choice. Fashionable, yes. Practical, no.

But I couldn't worry about that now. I had a meeting to attend. A meeting with the mafia.

A/N: Sorry, but it's now out… finally. Next chapter should have a bit of action, then the one after could have a bit of fluff… hopefully. I'll see how I go with the action scene, I haven't done one before.

angelalways17: Thanks for reviewing, good to know someone likes it…

MediatorSusannah: Thanks, I'll keep working on the next chapter.

Daimios: Thanks for your review. I was actually really worried that I wouldn't be able to keep them in character, but I'm glad that I'm getting it. Just let me know if I ever do something slightly out of character, I'll try to fix it. I'm not sure about Paul, What do you reckon? Maybe I'll do a poll... Hey, good idea, I like it…

Thanks also to pinkrazor and Alanna99 for your reviews.

**Poll: Should Paul feature in this story??? Please vote in your review…**


	4. Meet the Mafia

**A/N: Well, It's finally up… chapter four. This one has a little bit of action in it… so we'll see how I go. By the way, don't forget to vote as to whether Paul is in this story or not, and if he is, is he evil, or a friend? Enjoy… BTW, this chapter does have a tiny bit of swearing in it, just so you know!**

**P.S. If my chapter names don't seem that creative, it's because when I read stories that haven't been updated for a while, I tend to forget what has happened. I don't want you all to have to read the entire thing again, unless you want to, just to catch up. Think of them as summaries…**

**Disclaimer: All characters you recognize are taken from the Mediator series, written by Meg Cabot, props to her!**

**Chapter 4: Meet the Mafia.**

"Get it into the truck! And shut her up, the piss prick'll be back soon. I don't want him to hear her!"

Toni was exactly how you'd imagine a mafia guy. The little light that was available in the warehouse glistened off his oiled hair and despite his nauseating surroundings; his Armani suit was immaculately clean. If nothing else, I'll give the guy that… he has good taste.

Garbage dumpster issues aside, getting in was surprisingly easy. You'd think that being mafia and all would insinuate tight security, but the only think that barred my way was a locked window, which any amateur lock-pick could remove. I'd jumped into a room that was of no importance, simple storage, however of what I really didn't want or need to know.

Sofia frigging flipped when I suggested this.

"_NO! You can't go in there. Did you not understand a single word of what I've said for the last hour???"_

But I didn't see what else I could do. I mean, she wanted them put behind bars and her brother and sister freed and yet I wasn't supposed to get close enough to get my hands dirty!!! I'm flatter that she seems to care so much, but really! She wants a job done and I'm gonna do it simple as that. She said I should at least tell someone where I'm going. Of course the only other person I could possible tell would be Jesse and I somehow doubted he'd be inclined to allow me to go. Considering my inability to stay out of trouble when I'm 'working', we'd promised each other that we would at least get a message to each other about where we would be.

Well, a message would be better then an earful. Message it is. I'd called Jesse's work, knowing perfectly well that he'd be busy and left a message with the receptionist. By then I was ready to go.

While Sofia seemed to believe I would get nothing due to the fact I wouldn't even get into the building, I'd actually done well so far. Larissa was obviously in the building and Leo was due to arrive soon. Maybe…if I hung around, I'd get a chance to talk to him.

"Alright, there on, get them outta here!" Toni's voice however was soon drowned out by the truck roaring to life beside him. They soon left the building leaving Toni talking to a man in soft voices. There was no way I could hear what they were saying, especially due to the distant sound of a car coming closer, until it skidded into the warehouse. I finally managed to get my first look at Leo.

His hair was overgrown and disheveled, his clothing in major need of repairs. However, it was his eyes that captured me. If I'd placed a mirror between his own and his recently deceased sister, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. The haunting look they gave almost broke my heart.

"…You'll meet them outside the usually place. You know what to do… I need not remind you of the consequences if you fail…" With that, Leo was taken to another room at the far side of the building. I didn't have time to contemplate where he went though…

"Who the HELL are you!" The man had a pretty tight grip on my arm and his face was contorted into an expression I'm assuming was supposed to be intimidating. Unfortunately, he failed in that department, he merely looked like he was about to sneeze all over me.

I didn't answer him. Well… I did, but not the way he was expecting me to, if the grunt of pain he released as I twisted his arms behind his back was any indication. I didn't give him any chance to fight back. Hey… This guy was huge! There was no way I was even giving him a chance to swing. With a swift elbow to the temple he was down. Now thanks to my new friend currently residing at my feet, I had to find a new hiding spot. However, I guess today was not my day as, for the second time today, I heard voices behind me. I swear it is the whether. Mother Nature is cursing me and I'm still inside.

"Hey Rick? Where are…"

There was no way I could take down four fully grown, and I'm assuming trained, mafia men. While I tend to prefer the fight as opposed to the flight option, I had to relent in this case. Time for my heels to prove just why I shouldn't have worn them…

I jumped the guy at my feet and made my way towards the room I'd first entered. Glancing behind me, it seemed more people had joined the chase, boxes flying everywhere as they maneuvered their way between them. Just as I turned back around, another man jumped in front of the door blocking my view. Shit, now I'm in trouble!

I swerved to my left, instead making my way to where the trucks left. Unluckily for me, someone must have cottoned on to what I was doing and was trying to lower the door before I could escape. This was going to take some maneuvering.

By the time I'd reached the door it only left me about a meter. Looking back, I really should have played base ball as a kid. I seriously had that slide down. Unfortunately, the outside was not as empty as I'd hoped and the chase began again. I just wish I'd worn better…

SHIT!

I ducked as the first gunshot fired somewhere over my head. Thinking about it, it was strange they hadn't used them before hand. I mean, they ARE Mafia after all. But that sound sent a violent chill up my spine as I ran. I'd regularly been chased away from a building I wasn't supposed to be in but this was the first time was one of the rare times I'd had a gun fired at me and every time, It still scared the crap out of me!

Several more shots were fired and I was starting to really panic. I needed to make it to the highway…

Just as I was cursing myself for ever coming here, a car came screeching up the sidewalk. I was about to change my direction, thinking it was another mafia member when the front passenger window rolled down and I saw a sight that I almost cried with relief over.

"Susannah! Get in!"

Not giving it a second thought, I launched my self into the passenger seat; all the while gunshots raining around me, and slammed shut the door.

"Go!"

While I caught my breath, straightening up in the seat, my knight in shining armor turned to see who was behind us. His eyebrows creased in the centre as he turned back to face the front.

"There are three following us. Hold on!"

With that he swerved the car sharply to the right, ignoring the orchestra of car horns and brake tires behind us. I, however, turned once I heard a deafening crash. Two of the cars were left unscratched, the other was not so lucky. I feel sorry for the poor soul that was driving that car. I just hope he didn't have any unfinished business…

There was another gunshot as we turned again; taking several backstreets I'd never even seen before. I was starting to worry that we'd never get rid of the tail until we turned sharply into an underground car park. I was panicking at the speed we were going as the hundreds of cars speed past at frightening speeds. Just when I think it couldn't get any worse, the car was almost tilted on its side as we did a 450 degree turn into a space between two large SUV's. Before I even had time to register what was happening, and hand was placed on my back and my head forced down under the dash board. It was in this position that I stayed until I felt the pressure leave my back, signifying it was safe to sit up. The cars were gone but I could hear them leave the lot, if the horns screeching outside the entrance were any suggestion.

I placed my head back on the head-rest, trying to calm my breathing which had tripled since I had got into the car. My relief, however, was short lived as the anger in voice of the man next to me burned my ears.

"Querida, what in the world is going on???"

**A/N: Well, there we go, chapter 4 is FINALLY complete. I'm sorry for the wait guys. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, especially at the beginning of the chase thought he building. I guess it's because I can see it happening in my head but it moves so fast I can't type it all. I did enjoy writing Jesses little double agent move with the car though. I know it seems a bit farfetched, him only just supposedly having leant how to drive and all, but I figured that he did have 150 years to; as my PDH teacher calls it, practice it perfectly in his head. That is a long time people!!!**

**Don't' forget my poll… SHOULD PAUL MAKE A FEATURE IN MY STORY??? And if so, is he good or evil?**

**Until next time, which I really want to write as it does gonna be fluff, I think…**

**Melia**


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